Thursday, July 26, 2018

And the winner is…

When I heard those words last week, it was one of the
biggest shocks of my life! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to attend the RWA Kiss
of Death awards ceremony in Denver, but I was watching the live video on my
computer at home. Actually, maybe it’s a good thing I wasn’t there because my
husband said I had the same look on my face as I do in our photo taken during
the Disneyland Space Mountain ride. In other words, I looked like I was having
a heart attack.

For Risky
Redemption to win the mainstream category of the 2018 Daphne du Maurier
Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is truly an honor. My editor had concerns
about this story being too nontraditional with its two timelines, CIA-assassin
hero, and rape-victim heroine. But I had faith in romantic suspense readers
because I know (since I am one) they can handle books that are edgy and
different.

Even before this award, Risky Redemption held a special place in my heart, and now I really
want to share it with everyone. So here’s a blurb, an excerpt, and my favorite
quote graphics to introduce you to my Daphne du Maurier winner. I hope you’ll read
it and discover why the judges loved it.

Four
years ago, a brutal attack destroyed Angela Reardon’s trust in men. Now the
fiercely independent interior decorator has built a successful business and a
new life without love or sex. Haunted by her inability to identify her
assailant, Angela wants only to be left alone—until a shadowy stranger
reignites dormant desires. But their time together may be brief…because someone
wants her dead.

CIA assassin Jake
Stone’s targets deserved to die. Until now. Until he falls in love with the
innocent woman he’s been hired to kill. Can he save Angela and redeem himself
by uncovering who wants her dead? When the trail leads him into the carnal
underbelly of L.A., the truth is more shocking than even he could ever imagine.

Excerpt:

“Good try, Jake, but
you’re not sneaking away from the topic. Why did you break up with Bonnie and
all the others?” Angela asked.

“All the others?
What is this, an inquisition?”

She leaned over
him, her face inches from his. “Answer me, Mr. Stone.”

Jake pushed her
aside, swung his feet to the floor, and sat up with his back to her. “This
sucks. But okay. Here’s the ammunition you want. Yeah, I dated Tanya, Bonnie,
and all the others. I screwed them. A lot. But if they’re honest,
they’ll tell you they had a really good time. We had fun; we had sex. It never
got any more serious than that.”

“Why?”

“Why did I screw
them?” He twisted around and shot her a lecherous smirk. “I like to f**k,
that’s why.”

“Stop it, Jake. I’m
not going to let you hide behind your vulgar vocabulary. I know you use it to
put me off balance. It’s not going to work this time.”

“Well, aren’t you
clever, Miss Shrink.”

She inhaled slowly,
held the breath a moment, and then blew it out through pursed lips. “I’m asking
why you never have serious relationships with women.”

Jake tunneled his
fingers through his hair and scratched his scalp, obviously stalling. “It’s
simple, Angela. They were superficial relationships that didn’t have anything
meaningful to grow on. Why would a woman want a long-term, serious relationship
with me anyway? Even you called
me a playboy.”

“Maybe you always
escaped before they had a chance to grow.”

“Sure. Whatever you
say, Miss Shrink.”

“Okay, this is what
I say. I think you cut and run because you’re afraid one of these ‘superficial
relationships’ might get serious. Deep down inside, you want it, but you’re
afraid of it, too. So you hide. You’ve hidden the real Jake from Tanya, Bonnie, et al. And now, you’re hiding from
me.”

Steel shutters closed
behind his eyes. Cold, hard, emotionless gray stared back at her. “Believe me,
you wouldn’t like the ‘real Jake.’ I don’t even like him.”

22 comments:

Thanks so much, Natalija! I'm very proud of this book. Of course, I'm proud of all my books, but RISKY REDEMPTION is special because it's so different. I took a risk (ha!) with the way I wrote it, and it's so gratifying to see readers liking it just as I believed they would. I hope you'll try it.

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A recipe that includes a dash of desperation, a smidgen of danger, a dollop of adventure and a healthy portion of passion. Sprinkle a happy ending on top and you have the perfect meal. - JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE